My town: F. Scott Hess

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F. Scott Hess is an artist whose paintings, done in a figurative representational style, contain bold elements of humor, irony and eroticism. At 58, he has produced a voluminous body of work that has been the subject of retrospective exhibitions this year at the Barnsdall Art Park in Los Angeles and the Begovich Gallery at Cal State Fullerton. His 2011 series, “Paternal Suit,” tells the story of his family in America since his ancestors arrived in Massachusetts in 1634. The show debuted at the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art in Charleston, S.C., and is scheduled to open July 11 at the Long Beach Museum of Art. Hess, who is originally from Baltimore, trained under famed painter and sculptor Rudolf Hausner in Vienna and now teaches part-time at the Laguna College of Art and Design in Laguna Beach. He and his wife, Gita, have two daughters.

Where I live: Los Feliz

What brought me here: I came to Los Angeles with an Austrian girlfriend who was a filmmaker. That's what brought us to Hollywood, but the relationship fell apart after about a year. I met my wife while living here and she suggested buying a house, so we ended up in Echo Park. We moved to Los Feliz 3½ years ago.

What keeps me here: Los Angeles has been home since 1984. I still love L.A. – love the weather. I grew up in Wisconsin and after that and the coldness of Vienna I'm glad for a place where you get sunshine and it's not humid. All my friends have been here 30-some years. That's what keeps you in town. My wife is Iranian and there's a huge Iranian community. It's an exciting town to live in, and, as an artist, there's enough here to keep you interested. There aren't many cities that would actually support me as an artist. You need a large pool of collectors. I like to walk a lot and I like wildlife. It's 25 minutes from my door to walk up to the Griffith Park Observatory, and I can keep walking to Dante's Peak. In the other direction I can walk to Hillhurst and Vermont. On either one of those streets there are restaurants and bars and ice cream stores and book shops.

My favorite spot: I really do enjoy the Griffith Park Observatory and Griffith Park. I go up there at least once a week. I like to look out over broad vistas. And the building is just spectacular – three domes. That's one of the coolest buildings ever.

My perfect day: Spending uninterrupted time in the studio, I think. I work at home in my garage. I really do love to paint. It's a loner's profession. You're in a space by yourself facing that canvas. Your head goes into that space. You extend your consciousness into that space as you're inventing it. After 10 hours or so, you knock off and go into your house and have your family there. There's nothing I'd rather be doing than painting and spending time with the people I'm closest to.

My favorite eatery: Little Dom's, on Hillhurst. It has mostly American food. When I say American cuisine it would lead people to think I wasn't very adventurous, but I'll eat things most people would frown on – like bugs or dogs in China. But Little Dom's has good food and it's very comfortable. It just feels sort of homey and original.

My sanctuary: The Laguna College of Art and Design. I teach in the MFA program. Two days a week I'm in Laguna Beach, as opposed to being that loner in the studio producing paintings. This is my social sanctuary, if you will. I get out and have an interaction with the world. It's a small campus in the canyon. It's a beautiful place. The canyon has been inhabited for at least 17,000 years for a reason.

My pet peeve: Traffic. That's probably what everybody says. It gets worse and worse. I tried to get out more when I was young. Now I stay home. When I head out into traffic, I think, “How can anybody do this?” It's the only time I actually curse people. I'm pretty even-keel most of the time.

If I were mayor for a day: What could I get done in a day? I would put the entire budget of Los Angeles into the art community. The whole budget for one year. [Laughs.] I'm assuming they won't make me mayor anytime soon.

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